Tours to Ellis Island Hospital begin in October

The hospital complex on the South Side of the island was used to screen immigrants for infectious diseases. It has been shuttered since 1954.

The Ellis Island Hospital, which has been closed to the public since 1954, will open to the public in October.

Starting on Oct. 1, visitors to Ellis Island will be able to tour an area that has been closed to the public since 1954.

Tours to the enormous South-Side hospital complex, where immigrants to the United States were treated or screened for infectious diseases, will be led by Save Ellis Island, a nonprofit charged with rehabilitating that neglected portion of the space. There are 30 dilapidated hospital buildings there that visitors will be able to experience for the first time in decades as first reported by Crain’s in July.

“People will see everything from staff residences to the mortuary and they will be able to enter the buildings,” said Janis Calella, president of the nonprofit, which will begin selling tickets on Sept. 25 on its website.

Initially, the 90-minute tours will take place about three times a day and be limited to 10 people, but the nonprofit eventually hopes to double the number of tours and visitors. The tour includes 18 stops. Ms. Calella declined to disclose the ticket price, which is still being determined.

Previously, Save Ellis Island had sporadically offered such tours to corporate groups and students, but none under the age of 18 because of the buildings’ poor condition.

As part of the tour launch, a photo exhibit is being installed now by the acclaimed international artist JR, who is attaching 16 life-size photos of immigrants on walls and windows in the buildings.

The proceeds from the tours will go toward rehabilitating the hospital buildings. Save Ellis Island’s restoration work began in 1999 and more recently focused on the so-called "laundry hospital" building. Currently the ferry company Statue Cruises, which brings tourists to Ellis Island, has set up a temporary headquarters in the building, and in exchange has provided funding that has helped to restore the building.

Visitation to Ellis Island has been very strong this summer, Ms. Calella said. The island was closed to visitors for eight months following Superstorm Sandy. It reopened on July 4, 2013, though not all of its exhibits are available as the National Park Service—which operates the attraction—is still restoring storm-damaged areas.

The NPS recently expanded its hours of operation for Ellis and Liberty Islands, allowing people to spend an additional hour on the islands between Labor Day and Columbus Day. The last ferry leaves both islands at 6 p.m.